All the Things I Used to See
by Dr.D76567
Summary: With only limited time to live, Tai reflects on his life. Based on Pyramid Song by Radiohead. Set in the same universe as my other fic, If I Could Stay... I rewrote the end of chapter 2, so please reread that before chapter 3.
1. In the River

_**Hey Guys, It's Dr. D back from his 3-month "lack of creativity" spree. No seriously guys, If you're one of the two people who still care about "If I Could Stay," I'm really sorry I took so long to write Chapter 4. I could say that school's been really busy and I haven't had time, but that's not really true. So I started writing this as a one-shot in continuity with "If I could Stay," but for some reason I liked the format of 3 very short chapters better. The story's only about 2000-3000 words as completed and is in three pieces. The plan is posting part one of the story tonight, part two tomorrow (Saturday), part three on Sunday and then on Monday night to post Chapter four of "If I could Stay." You don't really need to have read it to understand this story, but it help makes IICS make more sense. So now that I'm in danger of making the AN longer than the story, on with it! The story is loosely inspired by "**_Pyramid Song_**" by Radiohead and parts of it appear throughout the story. I do not own the song or Digimon.** And please, before you read, keep in mind that this is **NOT** a Taitio. Repeat: **NOT A TAITO**. Also, there's a bit of gorey depictions (If that's how they describe it). Okay... time to breathe...

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_Jumped in the river, what did I see?_

_Black-eyed angels swam with me_

_A moon full of stars and astral cars_

_And all the things I used to see_

Tai lazily opened his eyes. For some reason he couldn't bring his eyes into focus and could only see a white, spinning blur. He had no memory of where he was, what he was doing or what in the world that throbbing pain in the back of his head could be could be. But as his hearing came back and his eyes became more focused, what he saw and heard confirmed his darkest of possible fears.

"_He's coming to…"_

"…_going to lose him…"_

"_Get the crowd back…"_

"…_his parents…"_

"_Oxygen…"_

" …_not going to make it…"_

"_Damn it!… ambulance…"_

"_Increase… 300…"_

These sounds were accompanied by the blurred vision of a bloody sidewalk and the twisted front of a 1999 Hundai looming in front of him. Although it wasn't in view, he guessed from the medical jargon coming from behind him that paramedics had arrived in an ambulance and were making a valiant yet vain attempt at saving his battered, broken body. His lower half was blocked out by the view of the car in front of him, but the fact that he couldn't feel his legs led him to gruesomely wonder if they were even still attached at all. Although one would have thought that he would be in great pain, he really didn't feel very much at all. It could have been due to the fact that he was severely paralyzed or maybe that his nerves just couldn't handle so much pain, but Tai didn't think too hard about it. There was only one thing that his mind could focus on: Matt.

Blocking out the seemingly swarm of paramedics hovering over him, he slowly and painfully turned his head toward the sidewalk where police were restraining the crowd that had grown to watch the event play out. In the front of the crowd, arguing with police and paramedics, was a slightly bruised Matt and a quivering silent tear-stained Sora at his side.

_"Oh good,"_ thought Tai as he attempted a weak smile with the little strength he had left. _"At least Matt was able to get out of this safely."_

Matt turned around and saw that his battered companion had opened his eyes. He and Sora pushed aside the buzzing paramedics and quickly rushed to their friend's side.

_"Tai! Tai!"_ Mat cried.

_"Oh, Tai, God no…" _Sora started as she broke down and began to sob again.

Tai opened his mouth to respond, but before he could make a coherent sound an involuntary coughing episode started and he only succeeded to spew blood out of his mouth.

_"Tai, shhh,"_ Matt ordered. _"You have to save your strength…"_

Tai felt the life draining from him as his vision once again started to blur. He knew he didn't have much time left and was beginning to rally his strength to make his famous last words, when all of a sudden the noises of busy EMT's and the slow traffic stopped. All of the sights of rushing paramedics and his friends at his side froze like someone had pushed a "pause button." Then, to top it off, he heard what could only be described as a silvery whisper talking inside of his head.

_"It's time…"_

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_**Okay, Part 2 up tomorrow night. Please review! **_  



	2. Past and Future

_**Hey guys. Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter, that was really great. I really believe that this chapter is better, but I'll let you decide. This chapter makes a lot more sense if you've read chapters 2-3 of If I Could Stay, but it's not incredibly nessecary. Again, I don't own "Pyramid Song" or "Digimon."**  
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All my lovers were there with me_

_All my past and future_

_And we all went to Heaven in a little rowboat_

_There was nothing to fear, nothing to doubt_

"What in the world?"

Tai jumped back at the sight of the street frozen in time, the blurs of cars in stop motion, birds frozen in mid-flight, paramedics and pedestrians statues. Then Tai jumped back at the revelation that he even could jump back in the first place, suddenly noticing that all of his pains and wounds were gone. _"Could it be?"_ he wondered in idle but excited hope.

Then he slowly and cautiously glanced at where he had lain sprawled on the side of the road only moments before and was shocked at the sight his battered, bloody broken body half under the car and half on the pavement. He quickly tuned away from this gruesome scene, more confused then ever. He wondered aloud "If that's me, then what the heck…"

"_There's nothing to fear"_

Startled, Tai turned around and was met by the sight of a white, brightly lit figure standing in the middle of the road. He couldn't make out any features through the blinding cloak of white light, but he figured the person to be about 5'9''.

"Oh," Tai said, looking down at his feet, a sad smile forming at the corner of his lips. "You must be… This must mean…" He turned around and looked back toward his friends hovering over his nearly lifeless body.

Although one couldn't be sure though the blinding light, the figure appeared to smile. _"It always brings me great pain to visit young people who had so much unfinished business in their lives, so much more to look forward to. But not as much as when the reason I'm visiting that person is because of such a heroic sacrifice."_

Tai looked back toward his visitor and furrowed his brow. "Heroic?" He shook his head. "No. I just did what I had to do. I know that in a heartbeat Matt would…"

"_Perhaps,"_ the man cut him off. _"But Matt's not the one who's lying broken on the side of the intersection just so he could prevent his best friend from the same fate."_

Tai pondered that for a moment. He hadn't really thought about that. At the time, he had forgotten about all the terrible consequences that might occur, all the extreme danger to him. The only thing that he had on his mind was getting Matt to safety. So he was a hero now?

There was a few seconds of silence before Tai slowly started up again. "So... what happens to me now? What happens to my friends, my family?"

The man again appeared to smiled from behind the veil of mysterious light. _"What happens to you now is far too complicated to explain in full. You'll just have to take it as it comes. But please believe me when I say it's a 'better place'."_

Tai took in a long deep breath and sighed. By now, although he tried to restrain himself as much as possible, some tears had formed in his eyes and his voice had grown a bit hoarse. "I can't think of a better place than here."

Tai looked up at the sunny, noon Odaiba sky and suddenly remembered what a beautiful day it had been. He was certain that if time was back to normal and he was a half kilometer from this scene of disaster that he would of heard birds chirping and children playing. Feeling a bit uncomfortable, he turned around to face the man once more. "Is it okay if… I…" He scratched his head. "You know… stick around for a while?"

"_Believe me when I say 'we have all the time in the world.' But I must warn you. For every second you spend here, it only makes it a little harder to let go."_

"I understand. I just…" Tai didn't finish his sentence."

"_Of course. Just tell me when you're ready."_

Tai nodded and began his final stroll down memory lane. He walked past his friends, his broken body and across the street where he had unintentionally gained hero status. He then made his way through the park, joggers and strollers frozen in time all around him. He passed the soccer field where Davis and his team were playing a game against Shinjuku and stopped at the grassy hill where he and Sora had laid down and been lazily enjoying the summer day. Grinning at the recent memories, he took off his shoes and squished his feet in the warm grass before laying down with his arms spread out. He lay there for a while before sadly deciding that it may be best to move on.

Making his way down the path, he came to their favorite cafe where he and the rest of the group dined regularly. Opening the door and listening to the door chime, he sat himself down at the booth were he and his friends had eaten earlier that day. Looking out the window, he recalled the playful conversations they had engaged in not just today, but all of the countless days they had ended up eating at this little cafe on the corner of the street. Eyeing the soda fountain in the front of the restaurant, he decided that one small cup of cola wouldn't be missed. Reaping in the sounds of the soda rushing into the cup, he took in the blissful smell of carbonated goodness and gulped down his final serving of caffenated high-fructose corn surup. When the last drop had drained from the cup, he threw it away, weaved his way through the still busy cafe and proceeded to the door,

He left the restaurant and made his way through this final stretch of the park where he had walked with Sora this beautiful morning just hours before. He recalled his conversation with her and their playful banter about his study habits. _"Well,"_ he thought to himself with some dry sarcasm, _"at least I never have to finish my English project." _Weaving through all of the people in stop motion still enjoying their day, Tai decided that all things considered, there probably couldn't have been a better day to die.

Finally, he came to his favorite tree right in the middle of this peaceful setting of serenity. With a sigh and a faint smile, he grabbed on to the first branch, straddled it and pulled himself up. He shuffled into a comfortable position and began to fall into deep thought as he had many times before in this sacred spot. This whole time that he had been retracing his morning stroll, one thing had been nagging at his conscious: Sora. He had heard the expression "live every day like its your last" more times than he bothered to count, but he, like the majority of the human race, had never fully reaped in its meaning. Every day since before he could remember, every time they had taken a walk through the park or met up at the café or just hung out, he heard a voice inside his head begging him to tell her how he really felt about her. He'd always thought that there was a good 76 chance that she felt the same way, but he had always shelved away the idea and decided to worry about it another day. After all, back then he believed that he had all the time in the world. What reason did he have for the need of an impending deadline?

He shook his head. That was what the man had meant when he said it was hard to visit people with "unfinished business." There must be a million more like him in the world, young people who had their work cut out for them but still let the one they cared about the most slip away. That was Tai. A youngster who left before his time, a soul with unfinished business. He decided if there was one thing in life he regretted the most that was it. But with all his chances spent, the only thing he could do now was to sit back in his tree and regret.

Taking in the beautiful sunny scenery of his world one last time, he gave a somewhat uncomfortable yawn and closed his eyes.

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"I… I'm… I'm Ready."

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**2 down, 1 to go. The plan still is to update the final chapter tommorow, but I'm not so sure about chapter 4 of IICS for Monday anymore. I'll know by tomorrow, so check back then. Please review!**_


	3. Nothing to Doubt

_**Once again, thanks to the people who reviewed. I re-wrote the end of chapter two, so please read that before reading this. I still do not own Digimon or "Pyramid Song."**  
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Jumped into the river…_

Time returned to normal and Tai found himself back in his mortal body crushed under the black car.

_Black-eyed angels swam with me…_

It was getting harder and harder to breathe. Tai guessed that this was because his lung was punctured and he was drowning in his own blood. He tried his best to put this thought aside.

_A moon full of stars and astral cars…_

The busy sounds of traffic, the crowd, and the medical workers' equipment were numbing. He was just about to give in to deep sleep when…

_And all the things I used to see…_

Tai suddenly became aware that his Matt and Sora were still kneeling next to him. This was his final chance to be with his friends. He even might have one last chance to express his true feelings. One last chance…

_All my lovers were there with me…_

He looked up at the crying Sora one last time through his eyes of flesh, his eyes meeting her hazel ones. She truly was beautiful. The way her brown hair blew in the breeze, the way… the way…

_All my past and future…_

Tai really felt himself slipping away this time. Staring up into her eyes, he made one bold last try at telling the truth. He gathered all of his strength and ever so slowly opened his mouth.

_And we all went to Heaven in a little rowboat…_

_"So… ra… L… I… Lll…" _was the only sound that exited his mouth, following another coughing spree. He tried again. And again. And again.

_There was nothing to fear, nothing to doubt…_

He gave up the attempt of uttering his final words, his one last chance at conveying his feelings. He was no quitter, but this time he just couldn't find the strength inside him. "Maybe this was the way it was supposed to be."

_There was nothing to fear, nothing to doubt…_

Exhaling his final breath, he took a final survey of his surroundings before closing his eyes one last time. Even now the EMTs were valiantly trying to revive the lost cause. Even now his best friend and the one he loved were clinging on to his to his last seconds, accompanying him in his last mortal moment. The one final thing that stuck with him was how clear the sky was above him. It truly had been a beautiful day.

_There was nothing to fear nothing to doubt_

As he left the world he loved, the ones who loved him mourned his departure and would mourn in the weeks to come. But it was okay for now. For now, he was home.

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_**Okay, that's all done. It didn't really turn out like I had planned, but I still think it was okay. I might consider re-writing it in a couple month's time once I think about it for a while. Also, I'm going to need to clear my head before I start writing the next chapter of If I Can Stay. So expect that sometime next weekend, probably Friday or Saturday. If you have any suggestions on how it could have been better or any spelling/grammar mistakes or anything, please review. I'd really love some suggestions. Anyway, thank's for reading and I expect to be back next weekend with IICS. Please Review.**_  



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